Closure feeding device



Nov. 10, 1964 w. s. STERLING CLOSURE FEEDING DEVICE 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 13, 1961 INVENTOR. Wa/fer S. Sfer/ing ATTORNEY Nov. 10, 1964 w. s. STERLING 3,155,078

CLOSURE FEEDING DEVICE Filed June 15, 1961 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 l 5s 2 HF INVENTOR. BY Wa/fer 5. Sterling WM ZQQLQ A 7' TORNE Y Nov. 10, 1964 w. s. STERLING 3,156,078

CLOSURE FEEDING DEvicE Filed June 13, 1961 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. Wa/fer' 5. Sierl/ng 6 fgwm @L LLm ATTORNEY Nov. 10, 1964 w. s. STERLING CLOSURE FEEDING DEVICE 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 15, 1961 mmvrox. Wa/fer .5. Sterling @MCLPM A TTORNEY Nov. 10, 1964 w. s. STERLING 3,156,078

CLOSURE FEEDING DEVICE Filed June 15, 1961 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. Walter S. Sferl/n g BY @ZmcL- i A 7'TORNE) Nov. 10, 1964 w. s. STERLING 3,156,078

CLOSURE FEEDING DEVICE Filed June 15, 1961 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Hg fM A TTOR/VEY United States Patent 3,156,078 CLUSURE FEEDING DEVHQE Walter S. Sterling, Quincy, Mass, assignor to Pneumatic Scale Corporation, Limited, Quincy, Mass., :1 corporation of lvlassachusetts Filed June 13, 1961, Ser. No. 116,772) 12 Claims. (Cl. 53-o8) This invention relates to a closure feeding device of the type wherein successive closures supported in a line in an inclined gravity feed chute are arranged to be withdrawn by and loosely applied to the necks of successive containers advanced into engagement therewith.

The invention has for an object to provide a novel and improved closure feeding device of the type specified characterized by means for controlling the gravity feed of the closures in a novel manner such as to permit easy withdrawal of a closure by an advancing container freely movable on a conveyor without displacing the container and in a manner such as to relieve the closure being withdrawn from the pressure of the remaining closures in the line during the withdrawing operation.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved closure feeding device of the character specified having novel control means for releasing successive endmost closures in the line into a position to be Withdrawn in response to detection of a container being advanced into position to withdraw such closure.

With these general objects in view and such others as may hereinafter appear, the invention consists in the closure feeding device and in the various structures, arrangements and combinations of parts hereinafter described and particularly defined in the claims at the end of this specification.

In the drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a closure feeding device embodyin g the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the closure feeding device;

FIG. 4 is a plan view detail of the delivery end of the closure feeding chute;

FIG. 5 is a detail view in side elevation of the delivery end of the chute;

FIG. 6 is a side elevation of a bottle showing a closure loosely applied to the neck of a bottle;

FIG. 7 is a detail view partly in cross section of an air cylinder forming a part of a pneumatic control system;

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic view of the pneumatic control system;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a portion of the bottle detecting mechanism;

FIG. 10 is a front View of the same;

FIG. 11 is a detail view of a pneumatic controller forming a part of the present control system; and

FIG. 12 is a plan view of a modified form of bottle detecting mechanism to be described. a

In general the present invention contemplates a novel and improved closure feeding device particularly adapted for feeding and loosely applying successive closures,

such as, for example, screw closures to the necks of successive containers, herein described as bottles, while tie bottles are continuously advanced beneath" the feeding and applying apparatus on a conveyor arranged to deliver the bottles to a closureapplying machine, not shown, wherein the loosely applied screw closures are gripped and rotated to screw the closures onto the bottles. in operation the endmost closure in the chute is supported in a tilted position with its open end facing downwardly and rearward-1y. The bottles are moved forwardly in an upright position and are guided so that the neck of a 3,l5d,78 Patented Nov. 10, 1964 "ice bottle will enter the open end of the inclined closure to withdraw the same from the chute. The closure thus vithdrawn is caused to assume an upright postion on the neck of the bottle in readiness to be delivered to the closure applying machine.

One of the required features of a closure feeding device of the present type is the provision of retaining means at the delivery end of the chute from which successive endmost closures fed by gravity down the inclined chute may be forcibly withdrawn by the neck of an advancing bottle. in the illustrated embodiment of the invention the bottles are advanced beneath the chute on a conveyor belt and between guide rails into engagement with a closure supported in the chute by the retaining means. In operation it was found that a strong retaining member, offering relatively great resistance and requiring considerable'force to withdraw the closure from the delivery end of the chute, would often result in tipping the bottle rearwardly when the neck of the bottle engaged the closure. On the other hand, it was found that a relatively weak retaining member, offering a resistance such as to permit easy withdrawal of the closure from the chute by the neck of the bottle, was subject to the pressure or weight of the remaining closures in the chute to an extent such as to force the endmost closure through the relatively weak retaining means and as a result the whole line of closures would slide from the chute.

In accordance with one feature of the present invention provision is made for holding back the line of closures at a point spaced from the delivery end of the chute and for releasing successive closures singly from the line to permit them to move by gravity to the end of the chute into engagement with a relatively weak retaining member of sufficient strength to retain the closure in the chute in readiness to be withdrawn from the chute by an advancing bottle.

In accordance with another feature of the present invention provision is made for detecting the presence of a bottle being moved along the conveyor at a point immediately preceding the delivery end of the chute and for releasing the endmost closure in the line from the holding means in response to such detection. The released closure is then supported by the retaining means and withdrawn therefrom by the same bottle which triggered the release of the single closure. Thus, a closure is released from the line only when a moving bottle is present on the conveyor to remove the closure from the retaining means whereby to prevent a buildup of released closures behind the foremost closure such as might cause the closures to escape through the relatively weak retaining means. In other words a closure is released only in the event of an oncoming bottle to receive the closure.

Referring now to the drawings, in general the numeral 10 represents an inclined gravity feed chute arranged to support a line of closures 12, and the numeral 14 represents a belt conveyor disposed below the chute for supporting and advancing a line of bottles 16 arranged to engage and withdraw successive endmost closures from the chute in a manner such as to effect loose application of the closures on the necks, of the bottles. The line of closures are supported in the chute withtheir open ends facingdown and are held back from being advanced to the open end of the chute by a closure holding pawl .13 disposed at a point spaced inwardly from the delivery end of the chute, the pawl 18 being actuated by'control mechanism indicated generally at 29 arranged to release successive endmost closures in response to detection of successive bottles being moved along the conveyer into position to withdraw such closures. The bottle detecting means is indicated generally at 21, and in operation when 7 a closure is released it moves by gravity into engagement with retaining means indicated generally at 22 at the dea livery end of the machine. The closure 12 is retained at the delivery end of the chute in a forwardly inclined position with its open end facing rearwardly in a position to be engaged by the neck of an advancing bottle 16. The conveyer 14 is provided with guide rails 24- arranged to guide a line of bottles 16 into engagement with successive closures, and the delivery end of the chute may be supported for adjustment relative to the conveyer to accommodate the height of the bottles being run. The bottles may be delivered to the conveyer 14 from a bottle filling machine, not shown, and the conveyer may be continuously driven through any usual or preferred driving connections from the closure applying machine to which the bottles are delivered. The closure feeding chute It) includes a base member 26 which may be pivotally secured at its upper end, not shown, the lower end being supported for vertical adjustment in an upstanding slotted bracket 28 fastened to and extended from a supporting side rail of the conveyer. The slotted end of the bracket 28 is secured to a bracket 29 fastened to the base member 26. The illustrated feeding chute is inclined at an angle of about 30 from the horizontal for a major portion of its length and, as herein shown, the line of closures are supported on the upper surface of the base member 26 and are guided between side rails 30, 31 mounted for lateral adjustment in brackets 32 attached to the base member 26. A top rail 34, arranged to prevent upward displacement of the closures in the chute, is supported by laterally extended rods 35 which are carried by and adjustably mounted in upright arms 38. The

arms 38 are fast on a rod 39 pivotally mounted in spaced brackets 40 secured to the base member 26 to permit upward rocking of the top rail 34 when required. The downward rocking of the top rail may be adjustably limited by a set screw 41 carried by the arm 38 and engageable with an upstanding portion of the supporting bracket 40 such as to provide a clearance above the closures supported in the chute.

The forward or delivery end of the chute is further inclined downwardly relative to the major portion of the inclined chute, herein shown as inclined at an angle of about 15 relative to the major portion of the chute, or about 45 with respect to the horizontal whereby to support the closure at the delivery end in a forwardly inclined position of about 45 to permit entrance of the neck portion of a bottle moved therebeneath. As herein shown, the base member 26 is reduced in width at its forward end and terminates at a point such as to provide clearance for the bottle to pass thereunder, and the closure is supported at the forward end between the upper surfaces of relatively narrow spaced extension brackets 42, 44 secured to and extended from the reduced width portion of the base member.

The retaining means indicated generally at 22 comprises a hooked retaining arm 46 pivotally mounted on a stud 43 secured to the side rail 39 on one side of the chute. The forward end of the retaining arm is provided with a hooked portion 50 defined by an inwardly and forwardly inclined surface to facilitate withdrawal of a closure therefrom. The trailing end of the pivoted retaining arm is connected by a relatively weak spring 52 to a spring stud 54 extended from the side rail 38' in a manner such as to rock the hooked end of the arm inwardly into the path of a closure. A stop plate 56 secured to the side rail 30 is provided with an upstanding portion in the path of the trailing end of the hooked arm to limit the inward movement thereof. i

The side guides 30, 31 terminate at a point adjacent the end of the base member 26 and are provided with relatively narrow extensions 58, at). It will be observed that the hooked end of the retaining arm 46 is bent downwardly slightly, as viewed in side elevation, with respect to the 45 inclination of the forward portion of the chute so as to engage the lower portion of the closure retained thereby, and the upper surface of the side rail extension 58 is cut at a corresponding angle parallel to the undersurface of the hooked end to provide clearance for rocking movement of the hooked arm and providing a tapering end portion for the side guide extension 58. The opposing side guide extension 60 is curved adjacent the hooked portion and then extended in a horizontal plane for a short distance, as illustrated, whereby to prevent lateral displacement of the closure in this direction by the hooked arm 46 when the closure is withdrawn therefrom by the neck of a bottle being moved therebeneath. The top rail 34 terminates at the end of the main portion of the chute, and the forward end of the chute is provided with an independently supported top rail 64 mounted for longitudinal adjustment in the bracket 29 secured to the base member 26. The front end of the rail 64 is provided with a roll 68 carried by an arm 70 pivotally mounted at 71 in the rail 64. A compression spring 72 inserted between the upper surface of the arm 70 and an extension 74 from the top of the rail 64 tends to urge the roll downwardly, and an adjustable set screw 75 carried by the extension and engageable with an inwardly extended portion of the arm 70 is provided to limit the downward movement of the roll.

From the description thus far it will be seen that a closure released from the line by the pawl 18 is free to move to the delivery end of the chute and comes to rest against the inclined surface or hooked portion 50 of the retaining arm 46, the closure straddling the upper surfaces of the spaced supporting brackets 42, 44 and disposed in a forwardly inclined position with its open end facing rearwardly as shown in FIG. 5. At this time the closure is also supported laterally between the guide rail extensions 53, at The neck of a bottle being moved therebeneath is guided between the depending portions of the extension brackets 42, 44 and engages the open end of the closure thus retained, and as the bottle is continuously moved the closure is withdrawn from the chute. During the withdrawal movement the closure tends to assume a vertical position on the neck of the bottle, and the resiliently urged roll 68 engages the top of the closure to assure placement of the closure in a vertical position on the neck in readiness to be delivered to the closure applying machine for screw application of the closure. It will be observed that the illustrated closure is provided with interior screw threads at the upper end thereof, see FIG. 6, for cooperation with screw threads at the upper end of the bottle neck, the lower end of the relatively tall closure providing an outwardly tapering skirt portion. In operation, as soon as the closure is withdrawn, the hooked retaining arm 46 returns to its retaining position by virtue of the relatively weak spring 5'2. In practice the rclatively small resistance offered by the retaining arm 46, while sutficient to retain the single relatively lightweight closure in position to be withdrawn, nevertheless permits easy withdrawal of the closure when engaged by the neck of the advancing bottle without displacing the bottle on the conveyer 14.

As herein illustrated, the holding pawl 13 is arranged to hold back the line of closures in the chute and is arranged to release a closure only when a bottle being moved along therebeneath by the conveyer is detected in a position immediately preceding the delivery end of the chute so that the released closure will be in its withdrawal position when the detected bottle approaches the delivery end of the chute. The pawl 18 is substantially triangular in shape and is pivotally mounted on a stud 89 secured to the side rail 30 of the chute at a point immediately in back of the trailing end of the retaining arm 46. The forward end of the holding pawl is curved inwardly to provide a hook portion which engages the foremost closure in the line. The outwardly extended portion of the pawl is connected by a link 82 to an adapter 84 carried by the outer end of a piston rod 86 operating in an air cylinder 83. The air cylinder is supported by an extension of the bracket 40 secured to the base member 26.

As illustrated in detail in FIG. 7, the cylinder 88 is pro vided with an air chamber 90, and the piston rod 86 is provided with a head 92 arranged to be reciprocated in the chamber to effect rocking of the holding pawl 18 to release a closure. The opposite end of the air cylinder 88 is provided with a pilot valve 94 mounted for sliding movement in a transverse chamber 96. The pilot valve 94 is urged upwardly by a coil spring 98 and is arranged to be moved downwardly against the pressure of the spring 98 by air under pressure permitted to enter the chamber 96 through 'a pipe 101) when no bottle is present in a position preparatory to withdrawal of a closure as will hereinafter be more fully described. As shown in FIG. 7, when the pilot valve 94 is in its downward position a passageway 102 formed in the valve 94 and in communication with the chamber 96 is aligned with a passageway 104 in the cylinder which communicates through passageway 106 with the upper end of the chamber 90 to effect outward movement of the piston and to maintain the pawl 18 in its holding position.

The air chamber 90 below the piston is open to the atmosphere at this time through passageways 108, 110, 112 in the cylinder, passageway 114 in the pilot valve, and aligned passageway 116 in the cap member 118. Conversely, when a bottle is detected on the conveyer in a position preparatory to withdrawing a closure, the pres .sure in the pipe 100 is reduced and the pilot valve 94 is moved upwardly by the spring 98 to cut off communication between the passageways 102 and 104 and to align passageway 104 with a through passageway 120 formed in the valve 94 and with passageway 122 in the cap member 118 which is open to the atmosphere. Simultaneously, a passageway 124 in the cap 118 which is connected by a pipe 126 carrying air under pressure is aligned with the passageway 114 which communicates with the underside of the piston chamber through passageways 112, 110, 108 to urge the piston inwardly and effect rocking of the pawl 18 to release a closure. In operation, as soon as a detected bottle passes beyond the detection point, the

position or" the pilot valve 94 is immediately reversed to effect rocking of the pawl into its closure holding position to engage the next succeeding closure in the line.

Referring now to FIG. 8 in which the pneumatic control system is diagrammatically shown, it will be seen that the pipe 126 is connected to a pipe 128 which receives air under pressure from any usual or preferred regulated source of air through a supply pipe 130. The pipe 128 is provided with a pressure regulator 132 for maintain ing the pressure to the cylinder pipe 126 at a relatively high pressure, about 40 p.s.i., and the pipe is also provided with a conventional lubricator 134. An extension 136 of the pipe 128 carrying air at high pressure is connected to the inlet 138 of a pneumatic control unit indicated generally at 148. The pneumatic control unit is provided with an air chamber 142 formed in a block 144, the inlet 138 having a restricted throat portion or orifice 146 leading to the chamber 142. An air escape nozzle 148 is in communication with the chamber which is provided with a relatively small opening 150. The chamber outlet 152 is connected to the pipe 100 leading to the pilot valve chamber 96.

The pneumatic control unit 149 is arranged to cooperate with the bottle detecting mechanism indicated generally at 21 and which includes a pivotally mounted bafile member 156 cooperating with the air escape nozzle 148 to close 011' the flow of air from the control unit 140 in one position of operation and to permit escape of air in another position of operation. In operation the restriction orifice 146 causes a pressure drop before the air reaches the escape nozzle, and when the baflie is moved away from the nozzle there is practically no restriction to flow so that the pressure in the chamber 142 takes on a minimum value. As a result there will be insuflicient pressure in the pipe 100 at such time to effect shifting of the pilot valve 94. On the other hand if the baffle is moved toward the nozzle to impede the escape of air therefrom the pressure in the chamber 142 will be greatly increased, and this pressure will effect shifting of the pilot valve 94 against the pressure of the spring 98.

As herein shown, the control unit block 144 is secured to an angle bracket 153 which is connected to the extension bracket 44, land the baffle member 156 is mounted on a pivot stud 160 carried by an extension of the block 144. The other end of the baflle is provided with a stem 164 to which is attached a curved air vane 166. As illustrated in FIG. 9, the air vane is arranged on one side of the bottle conveyor 14 to receive a stream of air projected from a jet 168 disposed on the opposite side of the conveyor. The stream of air thus extends across the path of a bottle on the conveyer at a height such as to be intercepted by the neck of a bottle being advanced on the conveyor. The air jet 168 is adjustably supported in an adapter 170 connected to the extension bracket 42 and is supplied with air at a relatively low pressure in the order of 10 p.s.i. through a branch pipe 172 connected to the supply pipe 130, the pipe 172 being provided with a pressure regulator 174. As shown in FIG. 9, the baflle member 156 is rocked in a clockwise direction to cover the air escape nozzle 143 by the stream of air impinged against the vane 166 by the jet 168, the movement in this direction being limited by a set screw 175, and the bafile member is urged in a counterclockwise direction to move the same away from the nozzle 148 by a spring 176, the movement in this direction being limited by a stop pin 178. Movement in a counterclockwise direction occurs by virtue of the spring 176 when the stream of air from the jet 168 is interrupted by the passage of the neck of a bottle.

In the operation of the closure feeding device when there are no bottles being advanced along the conveyer 14 the stream of air from the jet 168 is not interrupted, and the baffle member is rocked in a clockwise direction to cut off the escape of air from the nozzle 148 of the pneumatic control unit 140. As a result the pressure is increased in the chamber 142 to maintain the pilot valve 94 in its downward position whereby to force the piston 86 outwardly and rock the pawl 18 to its closure holding position. When a line of bottles is advanced on the conveyor the neck of the foremost bottle will momentarily interrupt the stream of air from the jet 168 to permit the spring 1'76 to rock the bafile member and open the air escape nozzle. As a result of the pressure in the pipe 100 will be reduced to a minimum such as to permit the pilot valve 94 to be shifted upwardly by the spring 98 whereby to effect retraction of the piston 86 and rocking of the pawl 18 to release a closure from the line. Immediately upon passage of the neck of a bottle, the batiie is again rocked to cut off escape of air from the nozzle 148 so as to return the pawl to its holding position, the pawl engaging the next succeeding closure in the line. The released closure moved to the delivery end of the chute is withdrawn by the bottle which caused interruption of the stream of air from the jet 168, and advance of successive bottles moved continuously past the detecting mechanism will effect release of successive closures in accordance withthe demand therefor as the bottles are advanced by the conveyer.

Referring now to FIG. 12, in a modified form of the con- "trol mechanism, instead of detecting the bottles by a stream of air projected across the path thereof, provision is made for detecting the passage of a bottle by means of a feeler arm 180 which extends across the path of the necks of the bottles. As herein shown, the arm 180 is carried by a block 182 mounted on a pivot stud 184 in a bar 186 adiustably secured tothe chute supporting 7 screw 196 carried by a bracket 198 also secured to the bar 186.

In the operation of the modified detecting mechanism shown in FIG. 12, when a bottle neck engages the feeler arm 180 the switch arm 188 is rocked to close the switch 190, the movement in this direction being limited by a set screw 200. The switch 190 forms part of an electrical circuit for actuating a solenoid valve 232 included in the circuit and which is adjustably supported in a bracket 204 secured to a side frame of the conveyer. As illustrated in FIG. 12, the air supply pipe 136 may be connected to one side of the solenoid valve 202, and the pipe 100 leading to the pilot valve 94 of the cylinder 88 may be connected to the other side of the solenoid valve. In practice the solenoid valve is normally open when no bottle is detected so that the air under pressure in pipe 136 is free to pass through the valve to pipe 190 to maintain the pilot valve in its down position whereby to extend the piston rod and rock the pawl 18 to its holding position. Conversely, when a bottle is detected, the arm 180 is rocked to close the switch 190 and actuate the solenoid valve 262 to cut off the flow of air therethrough. As a result, the pilot valve 9'4 is permitted to be shifted by the spring 98 to its piston retracting and pawl rocking position to effect release of a closure for the bottle detected.

From the above description it will be seen that the present closure feeding device is particularly adapted for feeding and loosely applying closures to the necks of successive bottles which are arranged to engage and withdraw the closures from the feeding chute in a manner such as to provide a minimum resistance to withdrawal of a closure by the bottle. It will also be seen that novel provision is made for holding back the line of closures and for releasing successive closures into withdrawal position in response to the presence of a moving bottle approaching the withdrawing position.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been herein illustrated and described, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied in other forms within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus described the invention, What is claimed is:

1. In a closure feeding device, in combination, a feed chute for supporting a line of closures, means for retaining a single closure at the delivery end of the chute in a position to be engaged and withdrawn by and loosely applied to the neck of a container being moved therepast, a conveyer for advancing a line of containers beneath the chute into engagement with successive closures supported at said delivery end of the chute, and means spaced from said delivery end of the chute for holding back the line of closures in the chute and for releasing successive closures singly into said delivery end for withdrawal by and application to successive containers, said retaining means having a relatively low resistance to withdrawal of a closure by a container whereby to prevent displacement of the container during said withdrawal, said low resistance retaining means including resilient means having a resistance such as to support a single closure only.

2. A closure feeding device as defined in claim 1 wherein the retaining means comprises a pivotally mounted arm having an inwardly and forwardly inclined closure engaging surface, and means for resiliently urging the arm into the path of a closure.

3. A closure feeding device as defined in claim 2 wherein the delivery end of'the chute is provided with spaced depending guide plates between which the neck of a container is received, the upper surfaces of said plates being inclined downwardly to provide closure supporting surfaces between which the closure is straddled in a forwardly inclined position.

A closure feeding device as defined in claim 3 wherein the major portion of the chute is inclined at an angle or" about 30, and the delivery end of the chute is inclined at an angle of about 45 with respect to a horizontal plane.

5. A closure feeding device as defined in claim 4 wherein the delivery end of the chute includes a pivotally mounted roller supported above the retained closure and resiliently urged into engagement with the top thereof to cause the closure to assume a vertical position on the neck of the container during the withdrawing operation.

6. In a closure feeding device, in combination, an inclined gravity feed chute for supporting a line of closures, resilient means for retaining a single closure at the delivery end of the chute in a forwardly inclined position with its open end facing rearwardly to be engaged and withdrawn by and loosely applied to the neck of a container being moved therepas t, said resilient retaining means having a relatively low resistance such as to support a single closure only without falling out of the end of the chute and such as to permit withdrawal of the closure by a container without displacement of the container during said withdrawal, a conveyer for advancing and guiding a line of containers beneath the chute into engagement with successive closures supported at said delivery end of the chute, means spaced from said delivery end for holding back the line of closures in the chute, control means including means for detecting the approach of a container into a position to withdraw a closure, and means responsive to said detecting means for actuating said holding means to release a closure into said retaining means to be withdrawn by said container.

7. In a closure feeding device, in combination, an inclined gravity feed chute for supporting a line of closures, resilient means for retaining a single closure at the delivery end of the chute in a position to be engaged and withdrawn by and loosely applied to the neck of a container being moved therepast, said resilient retaining means having a relatively low resistance such as to support a single closure only without falling out of the end of the chute and such as to permit withdrawal of the closure by a container without displacement of the container during said withdrawal, a conveyer for advancing and guiding a line of containers beneath the chute into engagement with successive closures supported at said delivery end, means spaced from said delivery end for holding back the line of closures and for releasing successive closures singly for withdrawal by and application to suecessive containers, means for controlling the release of successive closures including means for detecting the approach of a container into position to withdraw a closure, and means responsive to said detecting means for actuating said releasing means whereby to eiiect release of a closure only when a container is present in a position to withdraw the released closure upon continued movement of the container.

8. A closure feeding device as defined in claim 7 wherein' the means for holding back the line of closures in the chute includes a pivotally mounted holding pawl and the actuating means comprises a pneumatically operated air cylinder.

9. A closure feeding device as defined in claim 8 wherein the container detecting means comprises an electrical circuit including a solenoid operated air valve operatively connected to said air cylinder, a switch in said circuit,

"and a pivotally mounted arm extended in the path of the containers on the conveyer arranged to close said switch and actuate said valve when a container is detected by said arm in a position approaching the delivery end of the chute whereby to effect release of a closure.

10. In a closure feeding device of the character described, in combination, an inclined gravity feed chute for supporting a line of closures in a position to be engaged and withdrawn by and loosely applied to the necks of successive containers being continuously moved therepast, closure retaining means at the delivery end of the chute having a relatively low resistance to withdrawal such as to retain a single closure only in Withdrawal position and to permit withdrawal by the neck of a moving container without displacement of or interruption of the continuous movement of the container, and means spaced from the delivery end of the chute for holding back the line of closures and for releasing a single closure to move into said retaining means when a moving container approaches the delivery end of the chute to withdraw the released closure whereby to relieve a retained closure of the pressure of the remaining closures in the line such as might cause displacement of the retained closure through said relatively low resistance retaining means.

11. In a closure feeding device of the character described, in combination, an inclined gravity teed chute for supporting a line of closures in a position to be engaged and withdrawn by and loosely applied to the necks of successive containers being continuously moved therepast, closure retaining means at the delivery end of the chute having a relatively low resistance to withdrawal such as to retain a single closure only in withdrawal position and to permit withdrawal by the neck of a moving container without displacement of or interruption of the continuous movement of the container, means spaced from the delivery end of the chute for holding back the line of closures and for releasing a single closure to move into said retaining means when a moving container approaches the delivery end of the chute to withdraw the released closure whereby to relieve a retained closure of the pressure of the remaining closures in the line such as might cause displacement of the retained closure through said relatively low resistance retaining means, control means including means for detecting the approach of a container into a position to withdraw a closure, and means responsive to said detecting means for actuating said releasing means to effect release of a closure only when a container is present in a position to withdraw the released closure upon continued movement of the container.

12. In a closure feeding device, in combination, an inclined gravity feed chute for supporting a line of closures, means for retaining a single closure at the delivery end of the chute in a position to be engaged and withdrawn by and loosely applied to the neck of a container being moved therepast, a conveyer for advancing and guiding a line of containers beneath the chute into engagement with successive closures supported at said delivery end, means including a pivotally mounted holding pawl spaced from said delivery end for holding back the line of closures and for releasing successive closures singly for withdrawal by and application to successive containers, means for controlling the release of successive closures including means for detecting the approach of a container into position to withdraw a closure including a pneumatically operated air cylinder, means responsive to said detecting means for actuating said releasing means whereby to eflect release of a closure only when a container is present in a position to withdraw the released closure upon continned movement of the container, said detecting means comprising a pneumatic controller operatively connected to said air cylinder, a baflle member cooperating with said controller, and means for projecting a stream of air across the path of the containers on the conveyer for cooperation with said bafile member, said baffle member being arranged to change its position with respect to the controller when said air stream is interrupted by the presence of a container approaching the delivery end of the chute whereby to effect release of a closure.

Everett Dec. 29, 1936 Bell Dec. 8, 1942 

1. IN A CLOSURE FEEDING DEVICE, IN COMBINATION, A FEED CHUTE FOR SUPPORTING A LINE OF CLOSURES, MEANS FOR RETAINING A SINGLE CLOSURE AT THE DELIVERY END OF THE CHUTE IN A POSITION TO BE ENGAGED AND WITHDRAWN BY AND LOOSELY APPLIED TO THE NECK OF A CONTAINER BEING MOVED THEREPAST, A CONVEYER FOR ADVANCING A LINE OF CONTAINERS BENEATH THE CHUTE INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH SUCCESSIVE CLOSURES SUPPORTED AT SAID DELIVERY END OF THE CHUTE, AND MEANS SPACED FROM SAID DELIVERY END OF THE CHUTE FOR HOLDING BACK THE LINE OF CLOSURES IN THE CHUTE AND FOR RELEASING SUCCESSIVE CLOSURES SINGLY INTO SAID DELIVERY END FOR WITHDRAWAL BY AND APPLICATION TO SUCCESSIVE CONTAINERS, SAID RETAINING MEANS HAVING A RELATIVELY LOW RESISTANCE TO WITHDRAWAL OF A CLOSURE BY A CONTAINER WHEREBY TO PREVENT DISPLACEMENT OF THE CONTAINER DURING SAID WITHDRAWAL, SAID LOW RESISTANCE RETAINING MEANS INCLUDING RESILIENT MEANS HAVING A RESISTANCE SUCH AS TO SUPPORT A SINGLE CLOSURE ONLY. 